This book was fine. I’m still curious to see how the story develops, but I am slowly tiring of the author’s style, and still feel like Merlyn as a character is not very interesting, which makes the whole series feel slower. Something about the characterization generally feels a bit limited - characters are either underdeveloped or fit extremely well into perfect boxes. Gray areas are limited. Lets see if Arthur can turn that around. ( )

Historical Fiction

I think I read the previous books in the series too quickly, and I started to get bored. I can't really remember what's happening anymore, but will finish it eventually.

Started the book January 14, 2008.
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August 3, 2009
Started reading the book again. James is reading the series as well, so I had better finish this book so I'm done when he gets to it.

If this were Middle Earth, we'd be done by now. Somehow Jack Whyte is managing to keep this story going 500-700 pages at a time. At moments, I'd like it to go faster. At other times, I appreciate the care and detail going into the story of this time and place.

This book helps round out the character of Merlyn by showing him and us the humanity of those in the world that are not of Camulod. He sees that everyone from lepers through Danes and Ersemen are as human as he and his Brits. This will likely serve him well as he raises Arthur.

Of course, Camulod is an amazingly advanced place socially and scientifically. And just the right mix of experts and skills are present in the odd bunch of family and relations surrounding the boy king and his 'wizard'. I think it all could be a bit more acceptable if the author had left out a couple of miracles and coincidences. ( )

This book is too long. The major characters are moving at a funeral pace towards their functions in the Arthurian canon, and though there are some efforts made towards placing the work in the chronology of the period, we remain in a sea of technical anachronisms. Were this a more direct fantasy, Mr. Whyte would be freer to operate. Instead he has chosen to place his concerns inside the demanding world of Arthuriana. Well, in 750 pages, we move only five steps along the arc of the Mallory framework. There is not much "World building" to occupy the verbiage. Only three more books to go, and I hope at some point to discover a third subplot for the reader to be involved with. ( )